We all have a different idea of what stress means for us and what causes it - but most of us associate it with unpleasant feelings caused by excessive pressures or demands that can't easily be met.

Some stress is often an accepted part of the job Stress is the result of a struggle or battle that you don't have the resources to cope with. Some stress at work is inevitable - it's an inherent part of getting things done, of moving projects on. And, of course, some jobs are much more stressful than others, especially if you have to manage others (getting a nationwide team of salespeople to meet targets, for example) or deal with difficult situations (nurses and doctors must cope with all sorts of stresses when human life is at stake).

But this sort of stress is usually short-lived and well rewarded emotionally, if not financially. In most cases, the more stressful, the job the greater the pay. Most importantly, it's stress the person can anticipate and choose to take on when they agree to do the job, so they can go prepared with tactics to minimise the effects.

More damaging is stress that relates to the way you're expected to do the job, or to demands being made on you that exceed your expectations of the job. This sort of stress is most likely to lead to illness - the Hazards Campaign would like to see stress-related illness recognised as an industrial injury.

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